First impression

Now that the semester is up and running, homework is in full swing. Not to be left out, this class, my digital media convergence class, has some of the most. I'm expected to do about four blogs a week now.

My professor assigned us a 1-page homework assignment the other day. I didn't want to do homework and the blog, so I asked if we could just blog our homework assignment. He really took to the idea, so the next few blogs will be a review of a multimedia presentation.

This particular entry will document my initial reactions to a multimedia piece I have chosen off of the website mediastorm.org You can find the particular multimedia flash presentation here. I'd suggest watching it before reading the rest of this entry. If you don't, this blog might not make a lot of sense. It's around 11 minutes, but it's very much worth it.

This multimedia presentation is beautiful. Not surprisingly, it was done by a married couple, a filmmaker and a photojournalist. The wife is Julie Winokur, and the husband, Ed Kashi. They have two children, a 11 year old boy and an 8 year old girl.
They moved from San Francisco, CA, to New Jersey in order to care for Julie's father, Herbie.

Within seconds of watching this presentation, one key point shines through: this family is beautiful. In every sense of the word, these people seems to embody "beautiful." The woman is stunning, the man, handsome, and their kids are just gorgeous. Herbie is also beautiful, with eyes that smile and an adorable grin. More than their physical beauty, though, this family has an inner beauty that out-shines their exteriors. They gave up so much in order to care for Julie's father, but they can see past the struggles that they have at the moment, and realize that what they are doing is right. I think Ed says it best:

"I feel that this period in a way is this sort of hidden gift. You would never think it at the moment, because it’s so traumatic and stressful, and sad. But in the long run the kids are being given this lesson, this life lesson in what it means to care for someone. What it means to come through for someone else."

I know that if I had to push aside all of my plans, move across the country, and make sacrifices every day, I would have a hard time not complaining every day. The family featured in this multimedia presentation handles their situation with class and love, something I know everyone would struggle achieving.

The Winokur/Kashi family is beautiful, as is their story. Though they struggle daily, I feel that their reward will be great.